Dita is a very well-known and loved company from Japan working on state-of-the-art In-Ear Monitors, having introduced a few critically acclaimed models, like the Dita Answer Truth Edition we will be reviewing today. We're looking at a flagship sporting one Dynamic Driver IEM skillfully created for it.

Introduction

While we haven't heard any Dita IEMs before, we read a lot about them from our friends in Japan, and from music lovers from all over the world. Dita is known for being very involved with their fans and lovers, and for providing some of the most outstanding service and after-sales support in the world. They also are known for having revolutionized certain IEM designs, especially when it comes to producing a comfortable and good-sounding IEM, and today we're looking at one of their best offerings, Dita Answer Truth Edition. For the sake of better readability, we will abbreviate the name of the IEM we are reviewing today to Dita Truth.

It should be noted that I have absolutely no affiliation with Dita, I am not receiving any incentive for this review or to sweeten things out. This review is not sponsored nor has been paid for by Dita or anyone else. I'd like to thank Dita for providing the sample for this review. The sample was provided along with Dita's request for an honest and unbiased review. This review will be as objective as it is humanly possible, and it reflects my personal experience with Dita Truth. Every opinion expressed is mine and I stand by it, the purpose of this review is to help those interested in Dita Truth find their next music companion.

Dita sure knows how to package their IEMs in an impressive way, informing us of their quality from the first moment we have a contact with them. The package is large, and everything is presented elegantly, yet with a striking impression of quality and elegance.

Dita Truth comes packaged in a large cardboard box, coming with a large, handy, instruction and introduction manual.

There is a good amount of accessories included in the package, and one thing that caught us by surprise is the leather carrying case included by dita, which is an envelope type of case, made of what seems to be genuine leather. It is hard to catch a glimpse of its quality in photos, or to put it in words, but that really feels like the type of accessory you'd see included with an ultra high-end IEM.

Build Quality/Aesthetics/Fit/Comfort
It is time we dig into Dita Answer Truth Edition!

Starting with the build quality, we can say only one thing: It is absolutely amazing. Dita Truth is actually made out of metal, and the driver is encapsulated in a round shell which seems to be able to take any beating and to resist any kind of usage one would place on them. The overall IEM seems not only solid, but also has a very sleek and sexy design, Dita's logo being one we really like to see on the surface of the IEM.

Going down to the cables, they are not detachable, and while we generally prefer to see detachable cables on higher-end IEMs, the cables coming with Dita Truth are made by VDH and they are some of the fanciest cables we've seen with a IEM. The cable splitter is slightly different than most IEMs we tested to date, Dita providing a rather playful and good-looking approach to cable splitters with a little rounded metal shape which takes care of the job. While we cannot test them against other cables, Dita actually includes a little portion of the cable with a special sequence to showcase the awesome cables made by VDH.

The drivers are a specially designed Single Dynamic Driver, named a Ultra-Wide Bandwidth Transducer, and while this might not sound as impressive as the IEMs who sport over ten Balanced drivers for each ear, there are many other flagships that everybody loves which also sport a single Dynamic Driver, like Sennheiser IE800, IE800S and HiFiMAN RE2000. We love the coherency and usual sound of dynamic drivers, many BA's (Balanced Armatures) being able to reach a good quality as well, but requiring more physical drivers working together with complex crossovers and other components.

The other things we'd like to mention about the build quality and aesthetics are that the 3.5mm plugs look and feel very solid, and that it has a gorgeous design, and that while we cannot fully agree with the fact that Dita made them with no replaceable cables, we really feel that those cables will last one a really long while without any kind of issues.

The comfort is simply beautiful. Somehow, Dita managed to give the Truth an amazingly comfortable fit, and although one might not think about it this way before placing them in the ears, Dita Truth really sits comfortably in one's ears, and even after long hours of usage, they still feel comfortable. The design is vented, which we feel is essential for a good dynamic driver, to achieve both the best comfort, to alleviate driver flex, and to get the best sonic performance, and the shape of the IEMs is actually rather ergonomic on the inside, the edges being soft and rounded, and Dita fitting well in everyone's ears in our test group.

All in all, Dita Truth looks, feels, and fits like a high end IEM (In-Ear Monitor), and the only downside we were able to find was that the cables are not removable, everything else being as good as we could dream about.

They are like an open window to music, a truly neutral IEM with a little added sparkle in the treble, with a quick and resolving sound, a neutral bass and midrange, and a sparkly treble that is there to make every single light in music shine and to make every detail come forward and present itself in its best shape.

The bass of Dita Answer -Truth Edition- is very deep, and reaches as low as one can ask it to, but it is a rather conservative bass, with an excellent timing and resolution, but if you're a basshead, then Dita Answer isn't going to be the best choice. The bass is so extremely well defined, that we had to listen to a few songs only to rediscover every single part of them and to re-analyse every little detail there. The rumble isn't quite that high, the conservative bass being more precise than it is rumbling or impactful.

The midrange of Dita Answer Truth Edition is a window of clarity and a true magnifying glass to look into your music and to discover new parts of it. The detailed presentation of DATE is pretty much as good as we've heard from the most expensive flagships we tested, being technically proficient, revealing and very very capable of presenting every intricacy and texture to the listener. This is not a forgiving experience, and bad recordings sound bad, while good recordings sound heavenly. The midrage feels slightly recessed compared to the treble and and the bass.

The treble of Dita Answer Truth is on the higher quantity side, with a forward and uplifting presentation, a very sparkly sound to it, and with a very revealing nature to it. There is some more sparkle on the mid and upper treble, and there is a good amount of dynamics and impact, along with excellent air and extension. The treble doesn't stop before the recording and the treble in the song stops.

All in all, Dita Truth is a very interesting IEM, with a very revealing and uplifting presentation, an excellently dynamic and detailed sound with a texture like those we're used to seeing in over 2000 USD IEMs. Excellent extension end-to-end, Dita Truth is going to impress every listener and will make you hear what a good recording is and what a not-quite-that-good recording is.

Soundstage

The soundstage is, in one word, incredible. The vented nature of Dita Truth lets the driver breathe and the IEMs are designed with an optimal reproduction of every sonic part, and to our delight, that is achieved very well. The stereo imaging and separation is as good as we've come to expect from an IEM in this price range, while the instrument separation is outstanding. Dita Truth can define multiple layers of guitars in the songs of Wintersun, and you can distinguish which instrument is coming from far away and which instrument was meant to be played right next to the listener. The depth is not the only impressive feature of the soundstage, as the width is also quite impressive, cymbal crashes extending far and wide, with a sweet trailing that lasts for the right amount of time to sound just right.

ADSR / PRaT

The ADSR and PRaT (Texturization) of Dita Truth are as impressive as the other sonic characteristics they have. The dynamic driver is as capable as higher end BA drivers are in revealing textures hidden within music, and this ability extends to the whole range of sonic reproduction, the bass, midrange and the treble all having a most impressive speed. The speed makes fine textures like those found in trumpets or in cymbal crashes, stand out far more than on smoother or slower IEMs, and music like that of Mindless Self Indulgence is as vivid and lively as we've heard it. Stringed instruments also take advantage of the excellent texture reproduction of Dita Truth, guitars feeling quite alive, and rock/metal solos being dynamic and emotional.

Portable Usage
Here things get a little more interesting. Dita Truth is an excellent IEM, but the cables are not detachable, so we had a few curiosities on how portable they would be in practice. IEMs relying on similar technologies can be a little prone to cable noise, phenomenon also named microphonics, so we did in-depth tests to determine how Dita Truth fares to it.

In practice, the comfort of Dita Truth is excellent when they are taken on a walk through the noisy streets of Bucharest, and they seem to block out most of the noise as well. In fact, we were able to ride the subway while enjoying a beautiful masterpiece composed by the Romanian well-known composer, George Enescu, without being interrupted by the idle chatter or by the subway's movement.

The comfort is excellent, Dita Truth doesn't get overly warm during usage, and they don't seem to cause any kind of discomfort while walking. While the tips included are not part of our usual setups (Spinfit and Mandarin), the tips included with Dita Truth actually do a darn good job and they provide an excellent choice for an out-of-the-box tip set. The tips don't get slippery with a lot of usage, and they don't get uncomfortable either, being both good sounding and comfy.

The cable permits a usage over-the-ear for most users, and while this might not suit very few, most people will find the cables to be super comfortable. There are no microphonics, and while the cables seemed a bit long before we left the room, Dita Truth is actually quite ergonomic in its usage. After testing and using it for so long, we actually became interested in upgrading the cables of some of our other IEMs to Van den Hul cables, as our experience with Dita Truth was most lovely.

They can be driven from midrange DAPs, and we would really recommend an upper midrange to a high-end DAP (Digital Audio Player), as the very revealing nature of Dita Truth really is best served by a good source. A little list of recommended sources, in no particular order, would be FiiO Q5, iFi iDSD Nano Black Label, iBasso DX200, Hiby R6, Cayin N5ii, FiiO X5ii, FiiO X7mkii, Opus #3, Opus #2, Opus #1s and iFi iDSD Micro Black Label.

While we haven't noticed Dita Truth to be prone to hissing, we noticed audible improvements in timing, texturization, and overall detailing with those sources, when compared to lower end sources like typical smartphones and ultra-compact Players.

Comparisons

Dita Truth vs Unique Melody Martian - UM Martian is probably the most similar IEM to Dita Truth we tested to date, so this comparison is probably going to be the most interesting. Starting with the bottom end, Dita Truth tends to be a little more conservative in its bass, but it also tends to provide a more detailed signal with more texturization, indicating a slightly faster driver. The midrange is similar between the two, although the tonality of UM Martians seem to have a little dip in the upper midrange, where Dita Truth seems to be more even. The treble is actually a bit different, UM Martians being similarly enthusiastic about the treble as Dita Truth is, but Dita Truth providing a slightly more realistic and natural cymbal reproduction. Both IEMs have a very revealing and detailed reproduction, with an excellent instrument separation. UM Martian can bear a blacker background. Depending on the DAP they are paired with, along with the music you're listening to, both can be excellent choices from a sonic point-of-view. UM Martians are not vented and they can produce a bit of void, having a rather larger IEM body, where Dita Truth has a smaller body and can be more comfortable, especially due to their vented nature, but UM Martian has a detachable cable, while Dita Truth cable is not changeable.

Dita Truth vs Sennheiser IE800 - IE800 has pretty much the same technology behind as Dita Truth, with non-interchangeable cables, a single dynamic driver setup, but with a proprietary tip mechanism and a very different sonic tuning. IE800 has much more sub-bass than Dita Truth, and although IE800 still might not be enough for some bassheads, it really is much stronger in the sub-bass. The midbass is actually similar. The midrange of IE800 is slightly thinner, and recessed when compared to Dita Truth's midrange, but both have similar amounts of detail and revealing abilities. The treble of IE800 is a bit splashier with a slightly fun sound to it, while Dita Truth's treble tends to be closer to a natural treble reproduction. The sound is basically bearing a U-shaped response with IE800, while with Dita Truth, everything is flat with a sparkle added to the treble. The ergonomics of the two are different, as IE800 has a shorter cable, where Dita Truth has a longer and better for over-the-ear usage cable. IE800's cable is changeable below the Y-split, while Dita Truth cable is not changeable at all. Between the two, IE800 actually feels more balanced if one wants a higher amount of bass, but Dita Truth's driver can be a hair faster providing an excellent overall texturization and response. Ie800 is far less dependent on the source it is connected to, while Dita Truth sounds best combined with an upper midrange / high-end DAP. Both are excellent IEMs in their own right, being targeted at different audiences.

Dita Truth vs Beyerdynamic Xelento - Those two IEMs are so different that the comparison feels slightly unfair, Xelento being pretty much the opposite of Dita Truth if that makes sense. Xelento is really thick-sounding, with a very enhanced bass that would satisfy any basshead looking for a high-end IEM, they have a thick and less revealing midrange, and they have a very smooth and relaxing treble and overall sound, where Dita Truth has a much tighter and more conservative bass, with more texture to it, Dita Truth has a much less thick midrange, and they have a lot more sparkle in the treble, with a more natural presentation instead of a smooth one. From the two, Xelento is hands-down better for the listener looking for a relaxing and laid-back presentation, a stress-free and easygoing listen, while Dita Truth is made for those detail addicts who want to see every little detail of the music under a magnifying glass, a true champion of revealing and presenting things with ultimate analytic sense.

Recommended Pairings

Dita Truth + iBasso DX200 (AMP5) - Starting with a true masterpiece, DX200 with its AMP5 really makes Dita Truth shine with excellent dynamics, excellent detail, and excellent textures. The soundstage with AMP5 is deep and its instrument separation is quite the thing as well, DX200 being a prime example of what a good fitting DAP for driving Dita Truth is. There is no hiss, only lovely music coming through with this combination.

Dita Truth + X7mkii (AMP5) - FiiO surely knows how to design a good-sounding DAP, and their AMP5 AMp module surely makes X7mkii shine its best. X7mkii is very similar to DX200 when it comes to its ability of driving Dita Truth, but here X7mkii has a hair less detail, also coming at a fairly lower price. The sonics of the pairing are excellent, with excellent overall dynamics, very good instrument separation and ADSR / PRaT, along with an impressive sense of impact and detail.

Dita Truth + Hiby R6 - Hiby R6 is actually a little less detailed than DX200 and X7mkii, but we really wanted to point that it provides one of the smoothest Android experiences there are, R6 being based on a much quicker CPU and providing an excellent experience overall. The sonics of R6 driving Dita Truth aren't quite as detailed as X7mkii or DX200, but the tonal balance works in its favor as R6 has a slightly thicker sound, giving Dita Truth a slightly more natural overall signature, with a hair less detail sacrificed for a thicker overall sound which some, if not most, might find more pleasing. Streaming music is also very easy and light on R6, although both X7mkii and DX200 also have strong streaming abilities and are very reliable devices, the main advantage here being that R6 is less expensive than either X7mkii or DX200.

Value and Conclusion

Dita Truth sure is a lovely IEM to hold in hand, and hear. We've made a love here for Dita, and for their overall elegance and ingenious approach to the IEM world, having made a real treasure with Dita Truth. It is not only detailed and revealing, but it is also precise and has excellent analytical abilities.

The package you receive when you make a purchase from Dita is excellent, with a good number of tips, and while you can't change the cable of Dita Truth, you really don't have to worry about it, as they made sure to include some of the best cables there are, with the Van den Hul cable found on Dita Truth. The ergonomics, along with the usage of the IEMs are as enticing as their sleek and elegant aspect, the whole IEM being a pleasure to hold in hand and to wear.

The over-the ear wearing style, along with venting and good noise isolation makes Dita Truth a great IEM to take on a walk, and an even more intriguing experience to enjoy your music while you're at home and leaning back in your armchair, focusing all your attention on every little detail there is in your music.

Dita Answer Truth Edition is one of the most revealing IEMs there are, with a conservative yet impactful bass, with a natural, revealing, detailed and sweet midrange, and with a sparkly and expressive treble that really makes all music shine. If you're looking for the ultimate in terms of not only comfort, but also detail, in this price range, or even higher, Dita Truth surely is worth looking into, and we are sure that most people will fall in love with them at first listen, and they'll continue on a journey of being surprised every day by this little gem.

@JVal - I own and compared them with both RE2000 and Xelentos, but decided that the price difference between Truth and RE2000 was very large, and I focused on writing about the comparison with Xelento, as they are at a somewhat similar price. I tend to take photos of what I have on my table, sometimes I take over a thousand photos per day for a single review, so having everything I have on the table can get a bit messy with the room I live in...

The DITA Truth Edition is a single driver dynamic in ear as described on their website `

The

Answer

uses a single ultra-fast, ultra-wide bandwidth transducer, purpose built to handle any musical genre`.

Everything about the DITA is quality, from the design to the packaging. A few photos for the package fetishists.

And also comes with a choice of two cases, one hardback and another in stylish leather.

Well what of the sound? Well we will get to that, take small bites and chew throughly to get the full flavor and enjoyment from our food shall we?

The single driver is connected by a weaved almost custom cable cable set in what i would guess is a durable form of shrink wrap, the solid part of the cable as seen in the first photo has a small window where one can visibly see the quality of the cable contained within.

It is not a detachable cable which may turn of some people, but this is standard for single drivers whilst detachable is often more seen in multi driver IEMs. Don`t view me as an apologist either, for although I can agree with the fears of spending a good bit of pocket money on an expensive in ear from a new company on the block I must say that the Dita is built solidly.

In these days of a wide variety of multi driver IEMs why would one even consider the back to basics of a single driver (I love my ATH-CK10 btw), can a single driver even approach the dynamics and deep sonics on a multi driver IEM? In the case of the DITA Answer (Truth Edition) I think it has come close, how close my hobbyist ears can`t exactly say, and I am not one to over elaborate or pontificate on audio products.

Am I happy with the sound? Yes.

Tokyo Headphone Show 2013.
The DITA crew.

As mentioned earlier initial impressions were positive from the early demo unit I tried at a show in early 2013 to the final product I received for review in October 2013.

I have mainly used the DITA -Answer Truth edition with my Hifi-m8>Venturecraft lightning cable> touch 5G using Flacplayer app. Using the supplied reference tips which suited my tastes most of all.

The DITA Truth seems a very balanced all rounder without skimping on any particular sonics, the bass is solid and present without being flabby or over bearing, the mids are present and add a fullness to the music yet don`t dampen down the the musicality by being overly warm, the highs are present without any sibilance or over bearing screeching that seems to accompany many in ears.

The DITA does detail well, but not at the expense of enjoyment. It seems to tread that fine line between pleasing everyone and it does it very well.

I found riding on the train and subway that they were fairly good at isolating sound, after listening for longer periods I did not have any listening fatigue.

At the risk of this seemingly appearing as a suspicious semi sponsored fan fest pre-solicited volunteer head-fier review - I must admit I have drunk the kool aid on this one, but as other head-fiers know I am generally of few words and dont feel a long drawn out review is more precious than short and sweet.

I await impressions from Currawong, hopefully Anakchan, If Joker could get his hands on a pair for his lengthly and voluminous IEM thread on head-fi that would be perfect and I heard innerfidelity will perhaps do a fuller review than here. Also DITA appeared at the recent Mook headphone festival so hopefully we will get some impressions via there.

Summary.

The DITA Answer (Truth Edition) is a well made in ear by a young and upcoming company, it is well packaged and solidly built.
The sound is full and does not scrimp on revealing the micro details of the music tracks thrown at it.
If one is at home or commuting the result is pleasing in both situations in terms of isolation.
The variety of tips included is sufficient and also means one can tailor the signature to suit their own individual tastes.
Being a single driver means it plays well with the majority of source devices and does not demand a 1ohm output source to perform at its optimum as multi driver IEMs do.

The DITA is a quality product so it will favor being used with a similar tier source, and accompanying files.

Possibles and probables:
The bass might be too full for some people at various times, but I will put that down to possible individual taste rather any design short comings. I found it clean and full myself.
Danny from DITA wrote `We strongly believe that earphones should closely mimic their two channel counterparts especially in the highest levels of audiophiledom. My personal goal is to have a very high level of 2-channel audio system available on the go. If you go to RMAF or CES and have a listen to really high end audio systems, you always feel the bass. It's impactful and uncoloured. Never muddy or slow`.

The cable of the Truth is a weave and contained within a wrap, I found mine to be coiled somewhat serpentine but was assured that production models with be more pre-shaped and without that problem.

In short form I believe the DITA to be a quality product in presentation, sound and built quality and am happy to have had the opportunity to try them out.

Photos are mine and also from the Dita website (with their permission).

Being somewhat well-known, it is not unusual for me to be approached by manufacturers at the Tokyo headphone festivals, ushered into an empty corridor or behind the banners at a manufacturer’s display and asked to look at or try a prototype of an up-coming product. I’ve even been accosted in this manner in a headphone store in Tokyo the day before one of the festivals by someone who recognised me. A couple of years ago a pair of gentlemen, Danny and Desmond from Singapore approached me to ask if I’d try a pair of in-ear monitors they were going to manufacture for a fairly reasonable price. Round, like a large pill, with an nozzle exiting at 45 degrees to one side, they fitted simply and sounded good enough with my current variety of music types that I said I’d take them on the spot as they were. Not only was it unusual to find a prototype of an upcoming product from a new company that seemed to get it right, but also to meet two people whom, with everything they spoke, were completely sensible with an excellent attitude.

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Danny and Desmond with Alex, their distributor in Japan at the 2013 Autumn Fujiya Avic Headphone Festival.​

It turned out that both owned a high-end audio store that imported, among other things, Stax. Like Gavin Chiu of Tralucent Audio, they had set out to make their own product as a result of the dissatisfaction they felt when auditioning other available IEMs. But unlike Tralucent, they had decided to go with a completely mechanically manufactured design with a non-removable cable. This is where it gets interesting, however, as they offer two versions of the IEMs: One with a regular cable and one at around double the price with a Van Den Hul 3T cable called “The Truth”. Honestly! Jokes aside, the attention to detail on both products is absolutely outstanding.

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Fast forward to 2013 and the release and the box they come in is the largest I’ve ever seen for a pair of IEMs. As well as the IEMs themselves, 6.5mm and airline socket adaptors are included, along with two cases — one more conventional 2-pouch zip case and a leather or leather-like box with magnetic latch. Three sizes of single-flange tips are included with one set of bi-flange tips. Each size in turn has three different types of tips, differentiated by colour and nozzle size, allowing the sound to be tuned to taste to some degree.

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Tips: Blue (narrow), Grey (reference), Black (wide) and bi-flange.​

The Answer is surprising for a high-end pair of IEMs in that the cable is permanently attached. In the case of the Truth Edition, the guys have gone to a lot of trouble to ensure that it is robust and will last a long time. Likewise the cable is designed by Van Den Hul using their 3T technology, which is likewise designed to be mechanically reliable even when wound tightly. Physically the cable is very rubbery and holds its shape well, which is necessary for it to sit well around the ears. Adjustments can be made by heating it with a hair dryer, though in use, if you examine the top of the splitter, you’ll find that it is a slidable choker. One major plus of the cable is that it is completely silent. It doesn’t transmit any noise to the ear pieces when touched or rubbing.

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The IEM itself is pill-shaped with an angular nozzle for the earpiece, which results in a fairly shallow insertion that may not be deep enough for some. This nozzle is larger than average, similar in size to the FitEar IEMs. The tips themselves fit with differing degrees of difficulty, a result of each type having different nozzle sizes. The widest black tips pop on easily and bring out the treble more and the bass a little less. The smallest-nozzle blue tips are difficult to get on and reduce the treble peak somewhat, bringing out more mid-bass emphasis. Between black and blue are the grey “reference tuning” tips which provide more of a balance.

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The overall balance of the sound is fairly typical of what you’d expect of a standard pair of “audiophile” headphones — something of a mid-bass hump and a high treble peak. With the blue tips I found the mid-bass to be a bit strong. Likewise with the black tips a bit weak. But the former may be preferable to people who listen to more modern recordings that seem to have a stronger treble. Their treble does seem a bit bright and, until they have had a sufficient number of hours of use, is a bit harsh.

Once they have had a sufficient number of hours on them, the frequency response stops fluctuating and everything starts to come good. It’s then that it really becomes apparent what Danny and Desmond have achieved with their design. Typical for good dynamic driver designs, the bass is fantastic in how it is delivered, rivalled in balanced armature designs only by the Shure SE846 and Roxannes. The mids are phenomenal, rivalling the best full-sized headphones in quality and the treble, especially with cymbals, which are notoriously tricky to get sounding right in an IEM, is unexpectedly excellent, again only bested by the latest top custom or universal IEMs that I’ve had experience with.

Switching between various IEMs on my AK240, in many respects I felt the combination was very much rivalling my main listening system for detail retrieval, which was unexpected. While proper instrument spacial positioning isn’t possible with IEMs, in other aspects there was enough separation between frequencies and sounds in all music to make for a very enjoyable listening experience.

Overall, The Answer (Truth Edition) is a very expensive pair of IEMs, but compared to the cost of other top-of-the-line universals, especially after paying for an extra, high quality cable to replace the stock cable in some cases, they are quite competitive given their outstanding quality, unique and thoughtful design and included high-quality cable.